Rooney Talks About Pogba’s Return, Playing Alongside Zlatan, And More

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has had his say on Paul Pogba’s return to Manchester United.

In a recent interview with Sportsmail, the Englishman discussed various topics, one of which was Paul Pogba – who looks set to make a record-breaking return to the Theatre of Dreams.

Rooney was asked what he remembers the most about Pogba from the Frenchman’s first spell at Manchester United, to which the England captain replied:

“The bruises. He was one of those players who, when you trained against him, somehow he would just hurt you. A knee in your side, bump into you, I don’t think he meant to do it, but it just happened. You didn’t even need to get into a tackle. Just go next to him and you’d find an elbow or some other sharp bit. So, if he comes, I’m looking forward to that again!”

Rooney also heaped praises on his former teammate, and expressed excitement at the prospect of having him back at the Old Trafford club again:

“He had great ability. Some of the things he could do, and he’s gone up a level since he left us.

“I hope he is going to want to return to United and prove he’s a top-class player. If he is excited to play for us, we’ll be excited to have him back. I’m sure he’ll feel there is unfinished business, and it would be a very big statement by the club if they can make it happen.”

The 30-year-old then talked about United’s new star signing, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Rooney said: “He’s one of the best strikers, and a big personality. You can see he wants to be a really important player for us. After training he is already talking about how we can get the best out of each other, you can see he’s got this great work ethic.

“I think the players feel this is more like the old Manchester United. It’s not just the new signings, we’ve got Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford from last season who made such an impact.”

He concluded the interview by talking about the team’s aspirations for the upcoming season.

“We’re in a very good spot now, we think we can challenge for the Premier League, and we want to put a marker down, in the Community Shield with Leicester. I know it’s a one-off game, but we want to show we can win a trophy early on — we feel that’s an important event for us.”